Why was Abraham Lincoln able to appoint so many justices?

Answer 1

While President, Abraham Lincoln nominated 5 Supreme Court Justices, who were all confirmed.

He was able to nominate 3 of the 5 due to 3 deaths of preceding Justices.

Noah Haynes Swayne was nominated and confirmed in July of 1862, and replaced Justice John McLean, who died in April of 1861.

Samuel Freeman Miller was nominated and confirmed in July of 1862, and replaced Justice Peter Vivian Daniel who died in 1860.

Samuel Chase was nominated and confirmed as Chief Justice in 1864, after Chief Justice Roger Taney died.

Another Justice resigned and Lincoln added a 10th Justice.

David Davis was nominated and confirmed in October of 1862. He replaced Justice John Campbell, who resigned in April 1861.

Stephen Johnson Field was the 10th Justice on the Supreme Court, nominated by Lincoln. Lincoln wanted to achieve both regional balance (he was a Westerner) and political balance (he was a Democrat, albeit a Unionist one). It would also give the Court someone familiar with real estate and mining issues.

In 1869, the Judiciary Act of 1869, set the number of Justices on the Supreme Court at nine.